The Super Network

For the first time ever, thanks to the WWE Network, the WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony was shown live and in it’s entirety and you bet I was on hand to watch it.

WWE Hall Of Fame has been such an important yearly event, and as a fan it is an honour to pay tribute to living legends of the business. This year the induction class was epic and something very special to me as well. With some of my all time favourites being inducted, it just felt right that I was able to watch the entire event live.

The show started off with an hour of a red carpet special and it was a very fun lead up to the event. It made the event feel very important and it was fun to see current superstars and legends all there together offering their words. It was especially very cool to see last years inductee Bruno Sammartino present and commenting on which matches he was excited for. I need to add that during the ceremony Bad News Barrett came out and it was an awesome moment, it wiped out the terrible moment with Hornswoggle and El Torito, which was so out of place.

The show kick off with Jerry Lawler the host of the event and the first inductee was Lita/Amy Dumas, inducted by last years inductee Trish Stratus. As a big fan (a rabid fan) of their era, it was an absolute pleasure to watch this. Trish made a fun speech for Amy, and Amy came out and she really took the time to make her speech and tell stories. She went on for a good while and I was happy to see that. She went through a lot to get to where she did, and so many fans like myself looked up to her for so long. It was truly a special moment to pay tribute to one of the greats!

Next up Diamond Dallas Page is here to induct his own mentor Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts and this is where the tears flowed openly. DDP is a man who has done amazing work with Jake, helping this man very recently to get his life back together and bring him back to a good place. DDP openly talked about his friendship with Jake and everything they had been through. An emotional Jake then came out and he made a very emotional speech that spanned through his demons, his passion and his come back. It was something that has been a long time coming, and seeing Jake clean and with him family is something I know a lot of fans have been waiting for. As a life long fan of Jake, it truly means a lot to be able to witness this and see how far he has come along. He honoured his family and that was a truly magical moment.

The celebrity induction was up next with Mean Gene Okerlund inducting Mr. T, who was also introduced by his son T Junior. This was a very surreal and crazy speech, Mr. T went on for a long time, and he did pay thanks to God and his mother. The man’s faith is very important to him and it was only right that he did bring it up. His family is also important to him and he paid tribute to his mother, a woman he clearly loves and respects above all else. By the middle of the speech it felt like we all wanted the WWE to induct his mother into the Hall Of Fame, she sounded like one top lady. I think by the end of his speech (which had to be cut because it went on for too long) we all wanted to thank our mothers, it was a special moment.

The tears readily flowed again as the late William Moody aka Paul Bearer was inducted into the Hall Of Fame by Kane (Glenn Jacobs), which was very fitting but I did wonder where The Undertake was. Kane gave a fantastic speech that was so very fitting to Paul Bearer, it was heartfelt and it was funny, and I can just imagine him looking down and smiling at it, he would have loved it. Perhaps one of the best parts of the speech was Kane stating that William Moody actually worked in a funeral home back in his early days! Being a life long fan of Paul Bearer and having had some correspondence with William Moody through social media, it was very emotional to see this tribute. He loved the business and he loved the fans, truly one of the greats. There was a nice touch with his two sons accepting his induction, his son even did his signature phrase “OH YES” with that high pitched voice. And then without breaking character The Undertaker came out and paid tribute in the only way he could (see the above picture), it truly was a magic moment.

The tears really did not stop flowing as The Bad Guy Razor Ramon aka Scott Hall was inducted next. I know many were surprised to see Kevin Nash induct Scott Hall and not me (as Scott Hall did ask me on Twitter if I was free to induct him), but sadly I couldn’t get to New Orleans.  But really, who better to induct and pay tribute to Scott Hall than Kevin Nash? This was very emotional as well, it wasn’t too long ago when Scott Hall was in a bad way, his demons were ready to take his life, but DDP and Jake reached out to him and not wanting his life to go down that road Scott listened to them and they took him in. With their help (and thanks to DDPYoga of course) Scott got his life back on track and has been training with his son Cody. Scott is in the best shape he has been in for such a long time, and he’s sober. I have been following his progress for a long time and it really just makes me so happy and proud to see him now, and seeing how far he has come. Like with Jake it really is inspiring to see. Kevin Nash made a great and heartfelt speech to his brother, and it was great to see Scott come out (I bet he was in his glory having the gorgeous Bella Twins with him!) and he did a few classic Razor moves. He gave a beautiful speech, it really hit me hard as a fan of his and again it was just so amazing to see him in such a good place. His speech ended with a great line “Bad times don’t last but bad guys do” and then the Kliq came out to pay tribute to their friend in what was a very touching and awesome moment.

Next up Carlos Colón was inducted and to my surprise his son former WWE Superstar Carlito along with his brother Primo (Eddie) and cousin Epico (Orlando) aka Los Matadores came out. It was fantastic to see Carlito again, and seriously WWE bring this man back! You could see from the three men it was an honour to induct their father and Uncle. Carlito had fun being there, and they gave Carlos a very lovely speech. Carlos came out and gave a very heart felt speech and you could tell it was an honour for him to be inducted, the man has had an amazing career and worked so hard. It was very cool to hear him name a lot of names of some other great legends, and he paid tribute to others as well.

And the moment many fans thought would never happen, The Ultimate Warrior was inducted to the WWE Hall Of Fame. The man is now back with the WWE as an ambassador and it seems all bad blood is in the past. Inducting Warrior was Linda McMahon, she gave a very funny and lovely speech, something that did feel surreal but it seemed right as the pair do have a bond. I admit I was disappointed Warrior didn’t run out to the podium but it was amazing to see him. The man has changed and come a long way since the 90’s, he’s grown up a lot and is quite inspiring. He gave a very long speech, an epic speech, one worthy of The Ultimate Warrior. He did bring up the Self Destruction DVD, and yes he said it was hurtful but it seems now that he brought it up he can put that to rest. He seems very happy to be apart of the Hall Of Fame and Wrestlemania 30 and to be back with the WWE. There were so many highlights from this speech, it is hard to really point anything out, it all was worth listening to and a long time coming. I am glad he has been honoured, like him or hate him he has done a lot and was a very big drawing card back in the day.

In all it was a fantastic ceremony, a very emotional one and I am so thrilled I got to experience it live.